The head of one of the country’s largest unions slammed Gov. Mitt Romney on Sunday over auto industry politics, and predicted that issue would help propel President Barack Obama to victory in the hotly contested state of Ohio.

“I don’t think he’s got a lot of credibility in Ohio,” Bob King, the president of United Auto Workers, said of Romney in an interview with POLITICO. “They see he’s changed his position on the auto industry, and on so many things, so many times.”

King said a spate of recent, and controversial, advertisements from Romney are doing him damage. The GOP presidential nominee has taken heat for a campaign ad that suggests Obama’s policies have led Chrysler to ship auto manufacturing jobs to China. Another ad makes a similar suggestion about General Motors. Both ads have been assessed as misleading, though the Romney campaign has argued that the claims are accurate, and both auto companies have pushed back on the allegations.

“It says a lot about the character to me,” King said. “Why would he do that? Why would he try to scare people?”

The Romney campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

King added that members of the UAW, along with others connected to the auto industry in places like Ohio, were “outraged” by the advertisements.

“UAW members and people at different work places have a tremendous amount of energy and anger over Romney’s –lies, I guess you’ve got to call them—because he knows it’s not true, there’s nothing further from the truth,” King said. He added, “They’re outraged, it’s probably energized them more.”

King said that in the wake of the 2009 auto bailout, companies like Chrysler have made progress on the road to recovery.

“I don’t know why he’s making the statements he’s been making,” King said. “He hurts everybody in Ohio because…a lot of businesses in Ohio are helped by Chrysler doing better. For him to put out misstatements about Chrysler, it’s unconscionable, it’s reckless. He’s doubled down about GM—it’s absolutely not true. For him to put out misinformation is just reckless and shows desperation.”

While the auto industry rescue occurred several years ago, it’s still fresh in the minds of many voters, he said.

“The bailout has a huge impact [on voting],” King said. “Here’s a president who showed strength and character to do what was right, even when it wasn’t popular. Everyone remembers very vividly when they were out of work, it’s a devastating event.”

“The fact is that we now make Jeeps here in Toledo, Ohio, that we’re proud to send to China, to Asia,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We export about 25 percent of what we make here, and so if they’re going to start production facilities overseas, obviously we’re going to lose some of our exports here. So, that’s all the ad says.”

He added that Romney did have a plan to assist the auto industry, contrary to statements Obama made during a presidential debate, and also laid claim on the Buckeye State.